Wildlife can cause considerable damage as they enter and feed in fields, yards, and gardens. Much of this feeding is done in the hours between dusk and dawn. Fences have been used to keep such animals at bay. However, fences used to exclude deer and other large animals must be extremely high and sturdy, or electrified. Such fences are generally complicated and troublesome to assemble, require significant time and expense to build, and can be unsightly or not in keeping with aesthetic objectives for the property. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an alternative solution to fencing.
Various electronic devices that are activated by infra-red heat and motion sensors have been developed, but each of these deterrent devices has its limitations. In such devices' operation, persons, pets, and other objects are capable of setting off such devices, making the operation of the device a nuisance to the property owner and neighbors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,192 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,093 utilize a spray of water to scare off animals, but such devices necessitate time, trouble, labor and cost of running water lines to the area needing protection. Further, water lines are subject to freeze damage in winter, which is a time when much animal damage occurs, and repeatedly spraying foliage with water invites disease problems in plants. A further limitation of such devices is that they may also be activated by people or pets who might periodically enter the designated area, which can aggravate a property owner, visitors to the property, or laborers working on the property.
Other devices utilize heat and motion sensors that activate sound recordings of dogs barking. Wild animals, such as deer, typically habituate to such sounds. In other words, over time, the wildlife becomes used to such sounds as it learns that there is no physical threat associated with the sounds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,523 utilizes ultrasonic sounds to scare off deer and other wildlife, but such devices can also injure or harm pets and livestock.
U.S. Pat No. 5,892,446 utilizes a motion sensor to activate a radio and light source to scare off animals. The use of a radio ensures that the sound emanating from the device is continually changing, but such a device is disruptive to people, pets, and livestock due to the random nature of sounds emanating from the device at any time of day. In addition, it is still possible that wild animals will habituate to radio sounds, once they realize that there is no associated physical threat. Furthermore, these devices also have the limitation that light and sound are not necessarily the most effective methods to ward off wildlife, especially during daylight hours.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that is not only convenient to install and use, but that can be adapted and configured to deter different types of animals from designated areas without disturbing or disrupting working or sleeping persons, pets, or livestock. In all these regards, the present invention, in its various embodiments, substantially fulfills one or more of these needs.